I have dreamed of having a boat for years but have not been in a financial position to get one until now. I was planning on buying an old ski nautique and adding a tower but I got an opportunity to buy a 2008 VLX with a friend of mine. He has an 05 but wants to upgrade and go 50/50 with me. I have heard that owning a boat with someone can cause problems and I want it to go as smoothly as possible. I have not known him too long (about a year) but we rode together a lot last season and went on a houseboat trip together. We get along well and he is very good about taking care of his current boat. It will be kept at a local boat club with easy access for both of us. What are some issues that might arise in this partnership. I am hoping that some of your experiences can assist me in eliminating any issues by figuring them out ahead of time.

I've always heard nothing but bad things about a boat partnership, usually from sites like this. But the only time I ever knew anyone who was involved in a boat partnership, he had a great experience.... twice. He co-owned two boats on different lakes. One was on a lake near his office & with a guy he worked with. About all they used the boat for was riding before work, at lunch or after work, usually with the same group of guys. The other boat was kept at their home on another lake, co-owned with 2 roommates. This boat was only used on the lake they lived on.

I think the bottom line is to spell out all the details ahead of time. And both of you sign a contract to each other. And then live by it. - gas up the boat after using it. - clean the boat, inside & out after using it. - all repairs are split down the middle. - where the boat is stored & used. - anytime the boat is taken from it's home lake (vacations). Spell this all out good.

All that said, I think I'd rather buy a used boat for 1/2 the cost & call it my own.

Chris, I've done a boat partnership with a friend in the past and we handled it fine. Granted, it was a 85' Ski Nautique 2001 but I don't think our agreement would have been any different had it been a new boat. Let me preface this by saying we were & still are very good friends, so that could have been a big reason why it worked in our situation.

Here's what we did. 1. Wrote up a VERY DETAILED ownership agreement which included the total cost of the boat, what portion each owner was responsible for, including tax, registration, storage & insurance.

2. A buy out plan for each owner in case the other person couldn't live up to their financial end of the agreement.

3. Routine maintenance & repairs were split equally no matter how much the boat was used from either side. In case of an accident resulting from negligence, that owner would shoulder the burden of repairs. If it was a guest on the boat, both owners would shoulder the cost if the responsible party wasn't able to pay for the repairs. This applied to trailer as well.

4. Both owners were responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the boat & trailer. A "work day" was scheduled once a month to do normal detailing.

6. Schedule of use: Most water time included both owners, however, if only one owner could use the boat on a particular day, they may do so. For vacations or trips, a minimum 2 week notice needed to be given to the other owner. Owner who's taking the trip is responsible for acquired boat costs for the trip (i.e. tow gas, launch fees, etc).

7. Boat always needed to be gased up after each use.

That's all I can remember, but it was a good experience for both of us since it was the first boat for the each of us. We figured since you needed at least 2nd to take the boat out, why not split the costs. It made it possible for both of us to get the boat. In the end, he ended up buying my end out since I moved out of state but I would do it again if the right person was interested.

..........life is always changing....what happened last year may not happen again this year.....unless you guys are both established neighbours with kids and going to stay in neighbourhood.........and even then I would have reservations as stated above. Once money is involved things always get more difficult...its that simple.

I would even have reservations of doing it with family......if issues do arise you have to promise yourself never to take it personally....but for most that is hard to do.

I've owned 2 boats with the same guy and we never had any issues. We pretty much rode together all the time anyways. We weren't anal about everything with written contracts or anything. We just paid everything 50/50 and he helped me when I would work on it. It worked out fine.

Having said that, I still wouldn't recommend it. I could see how it could very easily turn out very badly. You've only known the guy a short while. I had known my boat parnter for a decade and he also had loads of cash in case anything happened.

I really appreciate the response I have been getting so far. To respond to a few comments: We are both firmly planted in Ohio. He runs a successful family business, is married with a house, and I own 2 businesses and a house of my own. Financially, I know he will be fine because he has been able to maintain payments on his 05 VLX by himself with no problems. As for the people that said "run," I notice in your profiles that most of you already have boats. I have spent years calling around on nice days and being disappointed when I couldn't find a pull.I finally have an opportunity to have full access to the boat of my dreams and am willing to risk the potential negative consequences for the freedom to ride whenever I want. I am going to do anything I can to make it work. Ryan's post was the most helpful so far because it listed specific advice to assist me. Thanks again to everyone who has responded so far.

Chris, Glad I could be of some help. I can understand most people's hesitation in this issue, but if it's the right person (someone you've known for a long time, can trust & is responsible), then it can work.

One with a friend on my main wakeboard boat and another in a 7 way split on another boat.

Both work fine but I guess this is down to that I do all the maintenance and admin on both boats.

Its hard work getting money from everyone, doing all the maintenance and keeping the split even but it allows me to have a lake and ocean boat ready to go pretty much when ever I want for much much less cash.

I've owned boats on my own and I always ended up out of pocket. I'd pay for the boat, maintenance, private water fees, insurance, maintenace etc etc and just get gas money (if I was lucky) back.

Knowing someone for only 'just over a year' and trusting ~$35k to that person is a bit of a stretch, you could honestly take the half that you would have to contribute to the 08 and EASILY pick up a 02-04 for that same price for basically a brand new boat that only has 75-200hrs on it.

Plus it's your boat, so everything about the boat is up to you - maintenance schedule, new/upgraded stereo, ballast, etc, etc. If you wanted it on the boat you can do it, but at least you wouldn't have to run it by someone else before the final decision is made(maybe you would still have to run it by the wife though )

But if you wanted the 08, and it's that much better than a used boat I guess you should go for the partnership. The thing that I don't understand is that you sound like you could easily afford your own boat; is a boat that is less than five years THAT much worse than an 08 Bu VLX that you need to partner up with someone to buy it?

I find the biggest problem with boat partnerships is that it usually because neither or any of the parties can afford the boat on their own... its not a cost sharing arrangement... it is a necessity if they want to own a boat.. so they get others to buy in...

I have 2 different parties that share boats... the difference is... at any time... the other party can pay out the other party if and when they want out...

Makes a big difference... there is never any hard feelings. Because no one is forced to sell the boat... and no one is put in a financial situation.

But if it is because you cannot finacial afford to buy and maintain your own boat... then you probably shouldnt be going in half either.

If I was in that position... I would just tell him... if he buys the boat... and on a day he isnt using it... that you will fill it with gas and give him $250 to use it for the day.

I have shared boats over the years. Houseboat & 2 skiboats, it was well worth it for a decade, but we dont speak now, & still have half shares in unused houseboat. I now own two boats outright, 1 sea, 1 fresh, but the biggest problem is getting a second or spotter when your free to go out. So you might as well share the costs. Go for it.!!!

My first boat out of high school was a 2000 Moomba MobiusV. The only way I could get a boat like that was with the help of 3 others. These were 3 guys that I grew up with and pretty much spent everyday with them. We made an agreement quite like in Ryan's post. Everything in right down the middle. It is the only way this can work. A buy out plan is a MUST. You never know when someone cant do it anymore. These guys are my like family. I trust them with everything. I think you have to have that trust also. To this day we still have co-owners. A hundred bucks a month each for a 03 SANTE is not bad at all. Any time it goes to the lake we are all in it. Its been that way for 8 years now. I don't know if I would every own one by myself. I like the fact that I don't have to worry about paying for a large part of the gas cause your friends think that a few bucks will cover their sets. This is just my opinion. Just make some guidelines and follow them. Good luck!

It's one of those things that definitely CAN work but doesn't always and if it goes bad it normally goes very bad. The longer you've known the partners and the closer your goals and experience levels are the better your chances of having a good experience. I mention experience because we've all seen "that guy" pull into the dock etc and say wow I'm glad that's not my boat.

It sounds like you've pretty much made up your mind to do it so with that I say good luck just make sure you sit down, have a no BS talk about expectations etc, and then put it ALL in writing. Contracts are like fences and neighbors.

Good luck man. It sounds like you are going to do it anyway. I waited a long time to get my own. Believe me I understand what your getting at there. But my boat is my baby, and my girl is my girl. Nobody else is allowed access to either...What scares me is people change when money becomes involved and a year history is not long enough in my mind to trust anybody with your credit score unless there is a ring involved.

You are probably long gone, running to the dealer to get that sweet ride but if it's not too late DON'T DO IT!

I went partners on my first boat with one of my best friends. That was the end of that friendship. Had to have the best boat on the Delta. Now that I have downgraded to something that I can afford I am way happier.

It sounds like from your origional post that you can afford a nice boat on your own, just a used boat. There are a lot of nice used boats out there if you take your time.

IMO a person is more likely to take care of something if he owns all of it. If you share a boat you/your partner will both treat it worse than you would if you actually owned the boat Solely. And there are just too many reasons to not share a boat. If money is the problem then buy a cheaper boat. You don't need to have a $50,000 boat to have fun. Take me for an example, my $5,000 Ski Nautique 2001 is all I need.

I didn't read any of this thread, so if this has been said already please excuse me, but there is no way I would partner on a new boat. THe boat will get dings and wear. It could result in a lot of resentment. I think the partnership thing would work better on an older boat that you don't have so much invested in. That way if it gets a scratch or something gets broke its not that big of a deal.

I think buying a boat with a partner can be a good thing. However I am kind of thinking an 08 VLX will still be somewhere around 60K. I would think for 30K you could get a pretty nice used boat that is all yours.

The annual maintainance costs are the same for most boats. trailer , bearings, liability ins, risers exhausts winterising etc. Split them ,they are required even if the boat is seldom used. One of my boats I bought with 240 hrs in 16 yrs. However if you're anal about upholstry on an 80k boat where depreciation is the biggest cost, that's another story. But you'll still split the big drop.

Paul/fish6942 hit the nail on the head. I have done this with an offshore fishing boat and my brother-in-law. The biggest problem we had was splitting of the cost of repairs when he used it 70% of the time. Escrow or keep up with the hours and divide costs that way. I got tired of splitting routine maintenance and non-routine fixes everytime he brought it in from off-shore.

I am sorry I cannot read all of the responses, but you said that you want to be able to 'have the freedom to ride whenever you want'. That is why a partnership is not the best thing for you.

You are going to find several of those beautiful days roll around and you go to the boat to go...and it is already gone! The same will happen to him, but you will not have the freedom to go whenever you want with a partnership. I thought seriously about it, but I often do no know when I am going until I find myself hooking up the truck...How can I plan that with a partner? With weather being the way it is, you often cannot plan boating excursions until the last minute anyway.

I am sorry I cannot read all of the responses, but you said that you want to be able to 'have the freedom to ride whenever you want'. That is why a partnership is not the best thing for you.

You are going to find several of those beautiful days roll around and you go to the boat to go...and it is already gone! The same will happen to him, but you will not have the freedom to go whenever you want with a partnership. I thought seriously about it, but I often do not know when I am going until I find myself hooking up the truck...How can I plan that with a partner? With weather being the way it is, you often cannot plan boating excursions until the last minute anyway.

It's interesting how many nay sayers there are on this topic...... yet anyone who has ever actually been involved in a boat partnership says everything has been great.

Thats because most everyone who has had a deal go bad is embarassed or still to upset to admit it went bad and they made a mistake. Every partnership ive seen has gone bad, some worse than others. Take everyones advice. Buy a nice used boat. Trust me they are just as fun!

I am currently in a partnership on a houseboat, and very happy with it so far. Mine is a bit different, though, because it is a for-profit rehab project.

At the $35k price point, though, IMO you'd have to be crazy to go into a partnership just to buy a $70k new boat. You can pick up a very nice slightly used boat for $35k that will do everything the $70k boat will do, including picking up dock rats.

Perfect example of getting screwed by a boat partnership. This poor guy is gonna take it in the butt on this boat. The most he'll get for it is 32K TOPS unless some uneducated individual comes through for him.

I see by your profile pic you're pretty set on going in on that VLX with your buddy, or should I say EX-Buddy.

This could go good and bad. You do have the advantage because he does own a boat now and you get to see how he treats it and that he can afford it. As long as you will do the same and you both have the same idea of what a well kept boat is then everything should work. I would recommend with a new boat that you make sure you put enough down payment that if the deal goes bad you can dump the boat and dont get caught with the full payment like the guy with the mobius.

I thought of doing this with my brother in law before I bought my boat. I've known him and been friends with him since the first grade. Now that I have my boat, I don't think I would do a partnership on it. I am just way to anal about how it's treated and cared for. No one is going to treat your boat the way you would want it treated.

Granted it has crossed my mind to find a partner now that my mortgage just went up another $400 a month thanks to a dumb@ss mortgage broker that screwed me on the escrow payments. But I'll just hunker down and get it taken care of without bringing in a partner or selling the boat. Selling the boat really isn't an option at the moment since I wouldn't get what I owe on it yet.

i own a boat with my sister. i couldn't afford one without her, and vice versa. neither of us are willing to buy a 10 year old boat to afford it, so it works well. i clean it and am more anal about everything, but i use it a bit more. we are pretty equal on the costs. i don't get upset that she doesn't wax the boat just like she doesn't get upset that i use it a lot with a lot of my friends.

just make sure you know the person very well and are ready for it to go sour. remember that someone will use it more than the other, someone will clean it more and someone will probably pay more in general for one reason or another. if you can deal with these issues and your partner can too, then maybe you can pull it off.

sounds like 95% of partnerships are bad, but some work fine. think it through.